Improvement in banjos



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE TEED, OF NEV YORK, N. Y.

IMPROVEMENT IN BANJOS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 34,913, dated April 8, 1862.

To @ZZ whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE TEE'D, of the city, county, and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Banjos; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the saine, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which- Figure l is a front View of a banjo with my improvement Fig. 2 is a transverse section of the same.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in both iigures.

This invention consists in the arrangement of a sound-board between the parchment head and the rim of the banjo, the object being to give a Inore powerful and iner tone to the instrument.

To enable those skilled in the art to apply my invention, I will proceed to describe it with reference to the drawings.

A'is the rim, B the parchment head, and O the sound-board interposed between the rim and the head. This sound-board is of annular form and glued at its outer edge to the rim.

D is a deep ring of wood connecting the head B with the sound-board. This ring has a deep cavity a all round it for the reception of the marginal portion of the head and of the metal ring l) and hooks c c, which hold it in place. The outer front edge of the ring D is attached by gluing or other means to the inner edge of the sound-board, and the head is strained over the outer edge of the inner portion of the said ring, as shown in Fig. 2, the edge of the head having a wire ring d inserted in the usual manner and being secured by the ring l), which lits over the portion of the parchment which is turned over the inner portion of the ring D. The hooks c. c, which hook over and secure the ring t, have screwed stems which pass through holes in the back part of the ring d, and are secured by nuts c e behind the said ring, the said nuts serving to Jtighten up the head.

f is a thin ring of wood glued to the inner edge of the sound-board,to cover the cavity in the ring D and give the front of the instrument a finished appearance. This ring f has recesses in its inner edge for the insertion of the hooks c c.

The ring D may be made of metal', but I consider wood to be better.

The parts of the banjo not described are of ordinary construction.

That l claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. The sound-board C, interposed and forming a means of connection between the parchment head B and the rim A, substantially as and for the purpose herein specified.

2. The ring D, having an annular cavity a, receiving within it the ring l) and hooks c c, and forming a means of connection between the head B and sound-board C, substantially as herein described.

GEORGE TEED.

Vitnesses:

JAMES LAIRD, R. GAwLEY. 

